Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Soils and Geologic Resources
Potential impacts on soils during the drilling/construction phase would occur due to
the removal of vegetation, mixing of soil horizons, soil compaction, increased sus-
ceptibility of the soils to wind and water erosion, contamination of soils from spills of
hazardous materials (e.g., drilling mud, fluids used to hydraulically fracture subsur-
face formations), loss of topsoil productivity, and disturbance of biological soil crusts.
Impacts on soils would be proportionate to the amount of disturbance. Sands, grav-
els, and quarry stone could be excavated for use in the construction of access roads,
foundations, and ancillary structures, in addition to well pads and storage areas.
Construction of well pads, pipelines, compressors or pumping stations, access roads,
and other project facilities could cause topographic changes. These changes would be
minor but long term. Well pads located on canyon rims of the side slopes of canyons
could result in bedrock disturbances. Additional bedrock disturbance could occur due
to the construction of access roads, pipelines, rock borrow pits, and other ancillary
facilities. Possible geological hazards (earthquakes, landslides, and subsidence) could
be activated by drilling and blasting. Altering drainage patterns could also accelerate
erosion and create slope instability.
Paleontological Resources
Impacts on paleontological resources can occur directly from construction and
drilling activities or indirectly as a result of soil erosion and increased accessibility
to fossil localities (e.g., unauthorized removal of fossil resources or vandalism to
the resource). This would result in lost opportunities to expand scientific study and
educational interpretive uses of these resources. Disturbance that uncovers paleon-
tological resources of significant importance that would otherwise have remained
buried and unavailable could be viewed as a beneficial impact. Direct impacts on
unknown paleontological resources can be anticipated to be proportional to the total
area impacted by construction and drilling activities.
Transportation
Development of a geologic sequestration project would result in the need to construct
or improve access roads and would result in an increase in industrial traffic (e.g.,
hundreds of truck loads or more per well site). Overweight and oversized loads could
cause temporary disruptions and could require extensive modifications to roads or
bridges (e.g., widening roads or fortifying bridges to accommodate the size or weight
of truck loads). An overall increase in heavy truck traffic would accelerate the deterio-
ration of pavement, requiring local government agencies to schedule pavement repair
or replacement more frequently than under the existing traffic conditions. Increased
traffic would also result in a potential for increased accidents within the project area.
The locations at which accidents are most likely to occur are intersections used by
project-related vehicles to turn onto or off of highways from access roads. Conflicts
between industrial traffic and other traffic are likely to occur, especially on weekends,
holidays, and seasons of high use by recreationists. Increased recreational use of the
area could contribute to a gradual increase in traffic on the access roads. Over 1000
truckloads per well could be expected during the drilling/construction phase.
